Shchedryk (song)

This article is about the song. For the choir, see Shchedryk (choir).

"Shchedryk"
Disc label for the 1922 recording of "Shchedryk" by the Ukrainian National Choir
Song
Released	1901 (first version) 1919 (final revision)
Songwriter(s)	Mykola Leontovych

"Shchedryk" (Ukrainian: Щедрик, from Щедрий вечiр, lit. 'Bountiful Evening') is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's song, known in English as "The Little Swallow". It was arranged by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych between 1901 and 1919. The song tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of the wealth that will come with the following spring. "Shchedryk" was originally sung on the night of 13 January, New Year's Eve in the Julian Calendar (31 December New Style), known in Ukraine as Malanka or Shchedry Vechir ("Generous Evening"). Early performances of the piece were made by students at Kyiv University.

The song was made into a Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by the American composer and educator Peter J. Wilhousky, following a performance of the original song by Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on 5 October, 1922. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his own lyrics in 1936. The music has since become strongly associated with Christmas.

The song is an example of a Ukrainian shchedrivka, whilst the English words of "The Little Swallow" identifies it as a koliadka.

History

Origin

The ostinato motif of "Shchedryk"

"Shchedryk" ('Bountiful Evening') is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's song, known in English as "The Little Swallow". It tells of a swallow flying into a home to proclaim that the family will enjoy a plentiful and bountiful year. The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful". The song is based on a traditional folk song whose language was thought to have magical properties. The original traditional Ukrainian text used a device known as hemiola in the rhythm (alternating the accents within each measure from 3/4 to 6/8 and back again). The chant based on an ostinato four-note pattern within the range of a minor third is thought to be of prehistoric origins and was associated with the coming New Year, which in Ukraine before the introduction of Christianity was originally celebrated in April. Conceptually, the Ukrainian lyrics of this song meet the definition of a shchedrivka, while the English content of "The Little Swallow" identifies it as a koliadka.

With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January and "Shchedryk" became associated with the Feast of Epiphany, also known in Ukrainian as Shchedryi vechir, January 18 in the Julian calendar. It was originally sung on the night of January 13, New Year's Eve in the Julian Calendar (December 31 Old Style), which is Shchedryi vechir. In modern Ukraine, the song is again sung on the eve of the Julian New Year (January 13).

Arrangement by Leontovych

The conductor Oleksander Koshyts commissioned the Ukrainian composer and teacher Mykola Leontovych to write a song based on Ukrainian folk melodies for a Christmas concert. Using the four notes and the original folk lyrics of a well-wishing song he found in an anthology of Ukrainian folk melodies, Leontovich created a new work choral work. The four-note melody over a minor third of the chant was used by as an ostinato theme in several arrangements Leontovich composed. "Shchedryk" is the most famous of all his songs.

"Shchedryk" is generally said to have been first performed by students at Kyiv University on 25 December 1916. However, it was first performed on 29 December 1916 in the Kyiv Merchants' Assembly Hall, now part of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. The arrangement for an a cappella mixed voice choir was popularised by the Ukrainian Republic Capella directed by Oleksander Koshetz when it toured Europe in 1920 and 1921. The first recording was made in New York in October 1922 for Brunswick Records.

"Carol of the Bells"

Main article: Carol of the Bells

"Shchedryk" was adapted as an English Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by the American composer and educator Peter J. Wilhousky of NBC Radio, following a performance of the original song by Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on 5 October, 1922. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his new lyrics—which were not based on the Ukrainian lyrics—in 1936. The song became popular in the English-speaking world, where it became strongly associated with Christmas.

Although "Carol of the Bells" uses the melody from "Shchedryk", the lyrics of these two songs have nothing in common. The ostinato of the Ukrainian song suggested to Wilhousky the sound of ringing bells, so he wrote lyrics on that theme. Several other lyricists have written for the same melody, usually retaining Wilhousky's bell theme. A 1947 version, "Ring, Christmas Bells", is a Christian devotional song. There is an English adaptation of the original Ukrainian by Stepan Pasicznyk.

Lyrics

Ukrainian lyrics	Transliteration (BGN/PCGN)	English translation
Щедрик, щедрик, щедрівочка, Прилетіла ластівочка, Стала собі щебетати, Господаря викликати. Вийди, вийди, господарю, Подивися на кошару. Там овечки покотились, А ягнички народились. В тебе товар весь хороший, Будеш мати мірку грошей, Хоч не гроші, то полова, В тебе жінка чорноброва. Хоч не гроші, то полова, В тебе жінка чорноброва.	Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka, Pryletila lastivochka, Stala sobi shchebetaty, Hospodaria vyklykaty: Vyidy, vyidy, hospodariu, Podyvysia na kosharu, Tam ovechky pokotylys, A yahnychky narodylys. V tebe tovar ves khoroshyi, Budesh maty mirku hroshei, Khoch ne hroshi, to polova, V tebe zhinka chornobrova, Khoch ne hroshi, to polova. V tebe zhinka chornobrova.	Little Carol, Little Carol,  Little Carol Bird,  The swallow has flown in,  She began to chirp,  To call the master. Come out, come out,  master, Look at the sheepfold. The sheep have rolled over,  And the lambs have been born.  Your goods are all good,  You will have a measure of money, If not money, then a half-sheaf,  You have a black-browed wife.  If not money, then a half-sheaf,  You have a black-browed wife."

In popular culture

"Shchedryk" is used in the 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and in the 2024 horror film Immaculate, just as Sister Cecilia gives birth. In the Christmas scene of the 2022 Ukrainian historical drama film Carol of the Bells, children are caroling and singing "Shchedryk". The role of the song in the film is as a symbol of peace, hope and faith for a better future.

At the second Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which was held in the UK city of Liverpool rather than in Ukraine because of the war, this song was sung by the Ukrainian singers Zlata Dziunka and Mariya Yaremchuk.

See also

• Koleda
• Malanka

Sources

• Malko, Victoria A. (2021). The Ukrainian Intelligentsia and Genocide: the struggle for history, language, and culture in the 1920s and 1930s. London: Lexington Books. ISBN 978-14985-9-679-4.
• Nobbman, Dale V. (2000). Christmas Music Companion Fact Book: The Chronological History of Our Most Well-Known Traditional Christmas Hymns, Carols, Songs And the Writers & Composers Who Created Them. Anaheim Hills, California: Centerstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57424-067-2.
• Vysotska, Kateryna (2019). Brodz, Olena; Koshelnyk, Maryna (eds.). "Микола Леонтович: музична легенда Поділля" [Mykola Leontovych: a musical legend of Podillia] (PDF). Materials of the Scientific and Practical Conference for the 140th Anniversary of the Birth of M. D. Leontovich, December 13, 2017 (in Ukrainian). Vinnytsia, Ukraine: Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore. Retrieved 17 November 2022. (English text version)

Further reading

• McCoy, Tatiana (15 January 2022). "Сумна доля веселого "Щедрика": ім'я Леонтовича замовчується, а етика ігнорується" [The sad fate of the cheerful "Schedryk": the name of Leontovych is silenced, and ethics are ignored] (in Ukrainian). Radio Svoboda. Retrieved 2 December 2022.